Welcome to the enchanting Swiss city of Geneva. During our few weeks’ stay in France in Thonon-Les-Bains we just couldn’t miss going to the other side of the lake to visit Switzerland. This is how one day we ended up in Geneva, the second most populous city in the country and the largest city on the Lake Geneva shores. It’s a truly magnificent place that seamlessly blends the old and the new and has a lot to offer for its visitors. So let us take you on a trip through elegance, wealth, heritage, history, delicious chocolates, fascinating sites, and spectacular alpine views… Let’s go and discover great things to do in Geneva in one day.
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Geneva, Switzerland FAQ
Geneva is located in the canton of Geneva in Switzerland, right next to the French border. The city lies on the southwestern shore of Lake Geneva (fr. Lac Leman) and is surrounded by the Alps and Jura mountains.
Geneva is famous for so many things! Wealth, banking, diplomacy, watchmaking, CERN, luxury shops, pretty landscapes, spectacular water jet… Oh, and of course for being one of the most expensive cities to live in in the world (usually ranks in the TOP5).
It’s possible to see most of Geneva’s main attractions in one day, without rushing. But if you want to get to know the city even better, stay for at least 3 days. If you also want to visit surrounding places like Lausanne, Yvoire, Evian-Les-Bains, or maybe even Annecy or Chamonix, we recommend staying at least one week.
The best way to get around Geneva is on foot or by public transport (trams and/or buses). If you like walking you’ll be glad to know that most of the attractions in the city center are located close to each other.
The best time to visit Geneva depends on your needs and preferences. If you want to explore Geneva without too many tourists and in (probably) nice weather, we recommend visiting during late spring or early autumn. But if you don’t mind the snow and low temperatures or heat and the hordes of tourists – you can also visit during winter or summer.
Things to do in Geneva in one day
Geneva Old Town
One of the best things to do in Geneva in one day is simply strolling around the old town. Geneva Old Town (fr. Genève Vieille Ville) is located on a small hill and is full of cobblestone streets and squares filled with charming old buildings and many corners just asking to explore every nook of them. There you’ll find places of interest like St Pierre Cathedral, Treille Promenade, Place du Bourg-de-Four, Bastion Park with Reformation Wall, Tavel House, Calvin High School, and of course many restaurants, cafes, shops, and boutiques. Let’s go and take a closer look.
Fun fact. While exploring Geneva old town, pay attention to the street names because you might find interesting ones like Rue d’Enfer (Hell Street), or Rue du Purgatoire (Purgatory Street).
Discover: Accommodation options in Geneva
St Pierre Cathedral
St Pierre Cathedral (fr. Cathedrale Saint-Pierre de Geneve) was built in the 12th century as a Roman Catholic church and became a Reformed Protestant Church during the time of Reformation, in 1535. The church interior is incredibly beautiful in its simplicity. You can also climb up 157 steps to reach the towers to experience one of the best Geneva views from above.
In the St Pierre Cathedral, you’ll also find Maccabee Chapel (fr. Chapelle des Macchabées) filled with Gothic paintings and an Archaeological Site (fr. Site archéologique de la Cathédrale Saint-Pierre) located just under the Cathedral.
Entrance to Cathédrale Saint-Pierre is free. To get into the towers you need to pay 7CHF for a normal ticket and 5CHF for a reduced one. Ticket to the Archeological Site costs 8CHF for adults and 4CHF for children. You can also buy a combined ticket to both sites for 12CHF for adults and 8CHF for children (December 2024). To check current prices and opening hours visit cathedrale-geneve.ch and site-archeologique.ch websites.
Place du Bourg-de-Four square
Place du Bourg-de-Four is Geneva’s oldest square located near the St Pierre Cathedral. It’s a popular gathering place, where you’ll find many beautiful old buildings, several restaurants, and a fountain.
Treille Promenade
Treille Promenade (fr. Promenade de la Treille) is a peaceful place in Geneva Old Town offering some scenic city views. It’s best known for Banc de la Treille – the world’s longest wooden bench (which is 120m long!). Treille Promenade is also where you’ll find Geneva’s official chestnut tree, which each year, with its first leaf, announces the arrival of spring. Visiting this spot is without a doubt one of the best things to do in Geneva in one day so be sure not to skip it.
Book now: Private Custom Tour With a Local Guide in Geneva
Bastions Park & Reformation Wall
Bastions Park (fr. Parc des Bastions) is located at the foot of Geneva Old Town, right under the Treille Promenade. It’s a lovely, quite big green space perfect for relaxing and chilling. The park is mainly famous for two things:
- Reformation Wall – a monument built in 1909 in tribute to the major Reformation leaders: Jean Calvin, William Farel, Theodore Beza, and John Knox
- Giant chess and checkers games – available for free to all
If you need a nice spot for a short (or fun!) break while exploring Geneva’s old town, you should direct your steps to Parc des Bastions.
Geneva Water Fountain – Jet d’Eau
Iconic Geneva’s Jet d’Eau fountain is an unquestionable symbol of the city. Its first version was built in 1886 to control the excess pressure of a hydraulic plant. In 1891 it was relocated to Geneva harbor. Its current version dates back to 1951. Every second, 500 liters of water are shot into the sky, to a maximum height of 140m.
Seeing the Jet d’Eau water show is one of the best things to do in Geneva. If you’re looking for the best spot to do so, go to Pont du Mont-Blanc bridge and Quai du Mont-Blanc promenade.
Book now: Private Cruise on Lake Geneva with Aperitif
English Garden & Flower Clock
Another great thing to do in Geneva in one day is to visit the English Garden (fr. Jardin Anglais). It’s a lovely English-inspired park on the Lake Geneva shores featuring a famous Flower Clock, a fountain from 1862, a Ferris Wheel, and wonderful views.
Flower Clock
After Jet d’Eau water fountain, Flower Clock (fr. L’horloge fleurie) is probably the second most photographed spot in the city. It was first created in 1955 and commemorates the Geneva watchmaking tradition. The clock consists of up to 12000 flowers that change every season.
Interesting fact. The flower clock isn’t only decorative, it also tells the right time!
Ferris Wheel
If you want to admire Geneva and its surroundings from about 50m high – go on a ride on the Ferris Wheel. It’s located right next to the Flower Clock and is a great attraction to people of all ages. The wheel is open only during summer months, the ride lasts about 5 minutes.
La Grange Park
La Grange Park (fr. Parc de La Grange) is located only about a 10-minute walk from the Jet d’Eau water fountain. Without a doubt, it’s one of the most beautiful parks in Geneva, perfect to relax with beautiful Lake Geneva views in the background. In the park, you’ll find a Rose Garden (fr. Roseraie) and an 18th-century Villa La Grange.
La Perle du Lac & Mon Repos Parks
From Jet d’Eau you can take a lovely walk up to Parc de La Perle du Lac and Parc Mon Repos on the promenade along Lake Geneva shores. These two parks form one big green and peaceful area, full of stunning views over the French coast and the Alps. It’s a perfect spot to come for a walk, relax, or have a picnic.
Book now: Chocolate Flavors Walking Tour of Geneva
Botanical Garden & Greenhouse
About a 10-minute walk from La Perle du Lac Park, one more amazing green area is located – Geneva Botanical Garden and Greenhouse (fr. Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève). The garden is full of a wide variety of plants, trees, flowers, and herbs from all over the world – there are more than 12000! We truly loved it there and think that it’s one of the best things to do in Geneva.
Entrance to Geneva Botanical Garden is free. You can check out opening hours on cjbg.ch website.
Brunswick Monument
Brunswick Monument is a mausoleum built in 1879 for Charles II, Duke of Brunswick. He decided to leave his fortune to the city of Geneva in exchange for a monument built in his name. Duke also specified that the mausoleum must be a replica of the Scaliger Tombs from Verona in Italy. And so it is.
Rue du Rhone street
Rue du Rhone is a luxurious shopping street in Geneva filled with many high-end stores like Prada, Channel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Versace or Patek Philippe. Head there if you feel like spending a lot of money, or just want to do some window shopping.
Book now: Geneva 3-hour Chocolate Tasting Tour and Old Town Visit
Other things to do in Geneva in one day
Do you still need more ideas for things to do in Geneva? Here are some more, which we chose not to visit or we simply missed the booking deadlines. Maybe you’ll find them interesting!
Palais des Nations
Palais des Nations is a United Nations office complex set in Ariana Park (fr. Parc de l’Ariana). After New York, it’s the most important UN office. To visit the building you need to book your spot for a 1 hour guided tour (at least a few weeks earlier!) on the ungeneva.org website. If you won’t be able to secure your spot, you can always wander around the building and the park.
CERN
CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected scientific research centers. In Geneva, you can visit the Globe of Science and Innovation, which is a unique-looking exhibition center showcasing cutting-edge scientific events and exhibits. Visiting CERN is an amazing thing to do in Geneva, especially for geeks and those genuinely interested in science. It’s not a good place for small kids.
Entrance is free, although there are no online tickets or pre-booking available (December 2024). To get inside you first need to join often a very long queue and hope to get a spot sometime during the day. It’s recommended to appear around 8AM. To learn more about visit rules and opening hours please visit visit.cern website.
Patek Philippe Museum
Patek Philippe Museum is a watchmaking museum that traces the history of watchmaking from the 16th century to the present day, with some of the world’s most iconic watches on display. Entrance to the museum costs 10CHF for adults, 7CHF for students, and for children under 18 is free (December 2024). To learn more about current prices and opening hours visit patek.com website.
Lake cruise on the steamboat
You can also go on a cruise on one of the famous steamboats to places like Lausanne, Yvoire, Vevey, or Evian-Les-Bains. During the cruise, you’ll be enjoying Geneva Lake, views of the mountains, and the towns. For more information, routes, timetables, and prices visit CGN official website.
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Explore local attractions
How to get to Geneva, Switzerland?
Geneva is located about 65km from Lausanne, 165km from Bern, 130km from Evian-Les-Bains, and 85km from Annecy. The most convenient way to get to Geneva is by car, bus, or train.
Where to park in Geneva?
There are many paid parking lots available in Geneva center. We left our car in this parking lot, just about 15 minutes from Jet d’Eau and 35 minutes from Geneva Old Town.
Airports near Geneva
The closest airport to Geneva is in… Geneva! A trip from Geneva Airport to the city center will take about 7 minutes by train, 15 minutes by bus, or 10 minutes by taxi. To learn more about airport connections with the city that might interest you visit rome2rio.com website.
For great car rental deals visit Rentalcars website.
To Geneva by train
Switzerland has great train infrastructure so it’s very easy to reach Geneva by train. For example, the journey from Lausanne takes about 50min, 2h45min from Zurich, and from Annecy it’s 1h15min. To learn more about train connections that interest you visit sncf-reseau.com or rome2rio.com website.
To Geneva by bus
You can also easily get to Geneva by bus. For example, the journey from Lausanne will take about 55 minutes, 2h20min from Bern, and 2h10min from Chamonix. To learn more about bus connections that interest you visit rome2rio.com website.
To Geneva by ferry
You can also get to Geneva by ferry from places like Lausanne or Yvoire in France. To learn more about ferry connections that interest you visit cgn.ch or rome2rio website.
Campings Geneva
If you’re traveling by camper, places like Camping La Colombiere, Camping Le Terroir, or Camping des Cheseaux might interest you. They all are located near Geneva, either on the French or Swiss side.
Things to do in Geneva in one day – Summing up
We hope that our post has brought you closer to the decision of what things you want to do during your day trip to Geneva. But one thing definitely can’t be denied… the choice is huge! Wherever you prefer strolling among charming streets, shopping in luxurious shops, relaxing in green spaces with breathtaking views, or expanding your mind in museums – you’ll find that all in Geneva.
Our opinion about Geneva
For us, a visit to Geneva was a day trip from nearby Thonon-Les-Bains in France where we lived for a few weeks. We visited the city on one sunny Sunday in May and during that time there weren’t too many tourists. Thanks to that, our trip was very pleasant. What can we say about Geneva itself? We really liked it! It even reminded us a bit of our favorite city in Poland – Wrocław. We liked how clean and well-maintained it was, as well as the views over the lake and mountains, the green spaces, and the old town. We will remember Geneva very fondly and will gladly come back one day.
Book now: Geneva 3-hour Chocolate Tasting Tour and Old Town Visit
Restaurants, accommodations, and map
Check out various recommended places below.
Where to eat in Geneva?
Here are your best, high-rated options in Geneva:
Where to sleep in Geneva?
Hotel Montbrillant
Hotel Montbrillant is a charming hotel situated in the heart of Geneva, Switzerland, just a short walk from the train station. With its comfortable and stylish rooms, excellent dining options, and convenient location, it's the perfect choice for both business and leisure travelers.
Edelweiss Manotel
The Edelweiss Manotel is a charming hotel in the heart of Geneva, Switzerland, that offers cozy and comfortable rooms for travelers. The hotel is located close to the city center, making it a convenient option for visitors who want to explore the city's attractions, including the famous Jet d'Eau fountain and the Old Town.
Hotel Sagitta
Hotel Sagitta is a cozy and affordable hotel located in the heart of Geneva, just a short walk from the lake and the Old Town. With comfortable rooms and friendly staff, it's a great option for budget-conscious travelers.
Accommodations photos source: booking.com
